Apple to refund $32.5M for kids buying apps

FTC Chair Edith Ramirez announces the Apple refund to consumers to settle a case involving purchases that kids made without their parents' permission while playing on mobile apps.

Published January 16. 2014 12:01AM

By DAVID MCLAUGHLIN and ADAM SATARIANO Bloomberg News

Washington - Apple said Wednesday it will refund at least $32.5 million to consumers to settle a Federal Trade Commission complaint that it billed for mobile application purchases made by children without their parents' consent.

Under the terms of the settlement, Apple also agreed to change its billing practices to make sure that it has obtained "express, informed consent" from consumers before charging them for items sold in mobile apps.

"Consumers should not have to sacrifice basic consumer protection to enjoy the benefits of mobile technology," FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said at a press conference in Washington to announce the settlement. Ramirez said the $32.5 million figure is just a floor and that consumers will get full refunds to cover purchases from March 2011.

The settlement stems from the billing mechanism within Apple's App Store that made it easy for children to ring up charges while playing games without the parent being aware. Many games in the App Store use what's called "in-app purchases" in which a player can pay to get more features or advance more quickly.

Apple's App Store is the digital marketplace for buying games, productivity tools, picture-taking and social-networking tools and other software for the iPhone and iPad. The company said earlier this month that customers spent $10 billion on the App Store in 2013, with almost 3 billion apps downloaded during December. Developers who make the software applications have earned $15 billion by selling their software through the Apple Store. Apple takes a 30 percent cut of App Store purchases.

"Protecting children has been a top priority for the App Store from the very beginning, and Apple is proud to have set the gold standard for online stores by making the App Store a safe place for customers of all ages," Apple said in a statement. The agreement with the FTC "extends our existing refund program for in-app purchases which may have been made without a parent's permission."

The FTC deal is Apple's latest entanglement with the U.S. government, which has stepped up its scrutiny of the Cupertino, Calif.-based company. The iPhone maker also is battling with the Justice Department over a court-appointed monitor assigned to review the company's compliance with an antitrust lawsuit it lost last year regarding e-book sales. A Senate committee last year also released a report criticizing the company for policies that allow it to avoid paying billions of dollars in U.S. taxes.

Apple's deal with the FTC comes after the company settled a similar class-action lawsuit in California last year, resolving claims that the company induced children to make game-related purchases on iPhones and i Pads without their parents' knowledge or permission.

The FTC said Wednesday its complaint alleged that Apple didn't inform account holders that entering a password would open a 15- minute window in which children can incur unlimited charges, even if the account holder takes no action. Apple also often showed a screen that didn't explain that a password entry would finalize a purchase, the FTC said.

As a result, Apple received "at least tens of thousands of complaints about unauthorized in-app purchases by children," the FTC said. That included one consumer who reported that her daughter spent $2,600 in the app "Tap Pet Hotel," according to the FTC.

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